


A Story Of Life And Death

by ikbenroosje



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Mythology, Brief Mention of Suicide, M/M, One Shot, hades!kihyun, honestly idk what im doing its 2am and i felt like writing, i considered adding the other members but most greek gods are dicks so nah, life and death, persephone!wonho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-14 16:51:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18056372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ikbenroosje/pseuds/ikbenroosje
Summary: A retelling of the classic Hades and Persephone myth, only this time Yoo Kihyun and Shin Hoseok are involved





	A Story Of Life And Death

**Author's Note:**

> Back in 2016 I wrote my first fic on this site, which i never actually completed, but i decided to give it another go with a pairing i am currently interested in, just to see whether my writing has improved or not.
> 
> There is a slight mention of suicide in this, so if you are uncomfortable with that please keep that in mind.
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading this!

One thing to note when discussing any kind of story really, is that there’s always room for a new perspective. Stories are never as black and white as they seem. If life was as easy as fairy tales, with their clear right and wrongs, it would’ve been so much easier for everyone. But unfortunately, everyone is as wrong as they are right, fairness can’t be weighed on a scale, and reality can be twisted in many, many ways.

As twisted as the king of the underworld kidnapping an unwilling young deity.

Or that’s what people said when the beloved child of the harvest goddess suddenly disappeared. 

However, there are many ways to tell a story. 

This is simply the story of Yoo Kihyun and Shin Hoseok.

 

There is an unnecessary amount of dislike for someone who’s just doing his duty, Yoo Kihyun thinks. Death is despised and hated, whereas life is celebrated and enjoyed, as if they are not two sides of the same coin. Life would not be the same without death, and there’s no death without life, so truly, there shouldn’t be so much hate towards the king of the underworld. Although he does sympathise with the poor humans losing the people they love, there will be a time when they will be reunited eventually. Kihyun would rather die himself than admit it, but he did have quite a soft spot for those destined to be with each other. Even if their temporal loss hurts more than others. Unfortunately, hurt is such a common side effect of Kihyun’s occupation that it has hardened his already cold and empty heart. If he’d wept at every death he’d be taken responsible for, the world would have had their next big flood. So he’d toughened up, became a heartless, fearless ruler. 

And sometimes he wishes he didn’t have to.

Days where he catches a glimpse of the world above, on which he is allowed to sit in on some family drama. When he’d scoff at his siblings horrid life choices, or hide a smile when he sees others roll their eyes.

Days when he wished he wasn’t associated with everything bad and evil.

This is where Shin Hoseok enters our story. The boy who we’d call the embodiment of the sun if it wouldn’t offend all the other sun deities out there. Sweet and kind Hoseok, whose first encounter with Death made Death forget that he himself existed. How could anything end, when Hoseok makes you feel like every beginning.

It wasn’t Kihyun who first noticed Hoseok, no, it was the other way around. 

Hoseok wanted everyone and everything to be as happy as possible. He made people as well as flowers bloom simply by smiling. Yet there was Kihyun, uncomfortable and so out of place, and it upset Hoseok. He was well aware who Kihyun was, the infamous ruler of the underworld, but here on Olympus it looked like the only thing Kihyun could rule was rule out his presence.

So Hoseok did what Hoseok did best. He sent him a flower.

Centuries later Hoseok would still remember the exact expression on Kihyun’s face. Confusion slowly overthrown by a miniscule smile. A smile no one would have even noticed if they hadn’t been paying attention. But Hoseok was paying attention. This very moment was the moment he decided he would do everything in his power to make Yoo Kihyun happy.

Kihyun wasn’t used to getting any kinds of presents really. The offerings he received were to beg him for mercy when the time was there, as opposed to his brothers and sisters receiving many gifts out of adoration and love. So when he received a beautiful flower he was confused. First, he wondered whether it was actually meant for him. Surely such a wonderful present shouldn’t be given to some lovely deity out there. But then he realised the messenger god has never delivered something to the wrong person by mistake. So someone, out there, has sent the king of the underworld a flower. What a ridiculous thought. A ridiculous thought that made him feel warm inside, for the first time in centuries. All because of a simple flower.

That wasn’t the last flower Kihyun received. 

Every time he left the underworld, he was greeted by a flower delivered to him. The type of flowers changed, but the energy emitting from the flowers didn’t.

Kihyun still had no clue who would be so silly to send him flowers, but it made him happy. Death started thinking about life again. He started smiling more often, surprising those around him. He got more joy out of his little trips aboveground. And as his heart opened up, so returned the bad feelings he originally tried to lock away.

How can you mercilessly take away someone’s soul, when you know what you’d be taking away from them. The sunshine, the blowing of the wind, the smell of campfires, and the endless opportunities for joy around them.

As happiness returned to Death, so did misery. 

Walking hand in hand, just like life and death.

It got especially though when Kihyun was presented with someone who had taken their own life, their soul still hopelessly clinging on to their own body, like immediate regret.

Kihyun was trapped in the underworld just as the death were, his only glimpses of life were through his family. Never had Kihyun been able to experience the normal world, and although everything has its pros and cons, realising that people want their own experience on the world to end because of the misery surrounding them, is heart-breaking.

So for the first time in ages, Kihyun cried.

All the built up pain and hurt Kihyun had inside him, suddenly couldn’t be kept inside. All he experienced was death and endings and good things being violently ripped away from existence. Centuries of internalized fear and loss broke down on him like ocean waves.  
And suddenly, the ocean stilled.

A flower appeared.  
In the form of a beautiful boy whose hair reminded him of ocean waves. The boy reached out to touch him, but stopped just before his hand would’ve reached Kihyun’s back. He looked questioningly, as if asking for permission. Kihyun nodded, and the flower boy touched his back and pulled him in close. Patting him, as if to say “Go on, cry as much as you want to. I’ll be here”. And so Kihyun did. He cried until he forgot everything, including himself. The only thing reminding him of reality was the boy holding him in his arms. 

Kihyun didn’t notice, but Hoseok was crying too. 

Hoseok has always been a very empathetic person. If someone else smiles, he smiles, if someone else feels sad, he feels sad. But this, this is unlike anything Hoseok has ever felt before.  
To see the very person he wants to make happy break down like this, it would’ve hurt less if someone has stabbed him with a hundred knives. He felt guilty too. He noticed how his flowers had changed Kihyun, had made him more open to his surroundings. Had he never sent his flowers, Kihyun wouldn’t have broken down like this. But if Kihyun would allow it, Hoseok would love to help him piece himself back together.

Slowly, Kihyun calmed down, Hoseok still rubbing calming patterns in his back. And although they had never met in person before, Kihyun was very familiar with the energy surrounding his flowers. The smallest thing to have given him the most joy, shushing his cries and whispering comforting words. 

Kihyun looked up.

They locked eyes.

And everything else didn’t seem to matter anymore.

Life had found Death, and Death had been brought back to Life.

And as Life took Death to Death’s own home, rumours started.

But those rumours don’t matter, because this is simply the story of how Yoo Kihyun and Shin Hoseok met.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> I hope you liked it, and if not, feel welcome to (kindly!) explain why in the comments.
> 
>  
> 
> come scream about mx on twitter with me @wonhos3rdtattoo


End file.
